Page 19 of Rebel Secrets
Rethinking the whole arrangement of the table, I began to move things around, then realized I needed to get another table.And chairs.
“Yeah, about that,” Rain said.
I knew that tone.I looked up from the table, where I was mentally moving things around, eyes widening when I saw the look on her face.Who could possibly be coming to book club to put that look on her face?
“So, you know how Rebel got home a couple of days ago?”
My mind went blank.Actually, I hadn’t known.I’d been underwater the past few weeks with the paper and the bakery and the bookstore.In the weeds.Drowning.
No, not drowning.I was managing.Maybe I’d bit off a little too much more than I could chew in the past few weeks, but things were looking up.Abby had agreed to work full-time, and the wedding craziness would be over in three weeks.I just needed to keep swimming, and I’d be able to take a breath soon.
“Oh?”
Rain crinkled her nose a little and her mouth did a little quirky twist.
“Yeah,” she drew out the word to about five syllables.“So, he’ll be here tonight.”
My eyes widened so fast, I must have looked like one of those cartoon characters whose eyes pop out of their face in surprise.
“What?Why?”
“Well, from what I understand from Rowdy, he read the book and really liked it, and I quote, ‘the guy needs to get the fuck out of his head for a little.’”
“Wh—Oh, yeah.”
The team he’d been playing for had lost their championship game.I only knew because Rain had come into the bakery last week, mope-faced and needing a chocolate muffin.Then she’d told me Rebel’s team had lost, he was coming home, and her car needed a complete overhaul.
At the time, I’d been working on…oh hell, I don’t even remember what I’d been working on.Sample apps for the wedding, I think.And since I tended to just gloss over all things Rebel, it didn’t really register.
“He’s been home for a few days, getting settled back in his place and scarfing up my mom’s homemade food like he hasn’t eaten in weeks.But yeah, he’ll be here tonight, and I wanted to give you a heads up before he walked through the door, and you made a beeline for the kitchen and stayed there all night.”
“Hey, it’s not like I hate your brother, you know.”I shrugged.“We just have opposite personalities.”
“You know that old saying, right?”
I gave Rain the look.“If you say opposites attract, I’m going to throw this cupcake at your face.”
I picked up the closest one from the tray and held it up, truly ready to fling it if she said one more word.Behind me, Abby snickered, which in itself was a worth the dramatics.She was a few years older than Rain and me, but sometimes I forgot that.She just seemed so shy a lot of the time, that I always thought she was younger.
Rain laughed.“Oh, please no.Don’t throw the cupcake.Just hand it over, and I’ll eat it.”
I stuck my tongue out at her and put the cupcake back on the tray.“Just for that, you don’t get any.”
“Aw, don’t be mean.You know I love your cupcakes.They’re the best.”
“If I had known Rebel was coming, I would’ve made more.Guys always eat more.”
“You always make more than enough,” Abby said.“They’ll be plenty.”
But of course, now I was worried about running out of food.And, yeah, knowing Rebel was going to be here made my stomach curl into a little ball.
No time for that.
I left Rain and Abby to set up the table and headed for the glass door that separated the café from the bookstore when it was closed.I planned to pull a few of the chairs from the café into the bookstore and was just walking past the front door when it opened.
Of course, I wasn’t looking, so when the door swung inward, it startled me.
I let out a little yelp and grabbed the door before it could hit me, which just made the person on the other side say, “Shit,” and push harder.Stumbling backward, I released the door, tripped over my feet and would’ve ended up on my ass on the floor if someone hadn’t caught me.
